Posted by Piagis Shoutout on Thu, Feb 02, 2012 @ 07:15 AM
rates page 02.02.2012
piagi reports today as the Euro weakened versus the yen and the dollar as Greece struggled to reach an agreement with bondholders on cutting the nation’s debt burden, stoking concern Europe’s crisis will deepen.
The European common currency fell against 13 of its 16 major counterparts as Spanish bonds declined after the nation sold debt today. The yen rose to within 1 percent of a postwar high against the dollar, prompting speculation Japan will intervene to limit the currency’s gains. The euro briefly erased losses after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said his nation supports European efforts to stabilize the 17-nation currency.
“There is a growing fatigue in the market over the Greek deal,” said Neil Jones, head of European hedge-fund sales at Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd. in London. “For weeks we’ve been hearing a deal is imminent and the market went risk-on yesterday in expectation there was going to be an agreement. This has failed to materialize and I sense the market is becoming a bit weary with the euro.”
The euro weakened 0.3 percent to 99.98 yen at 6:19 a.m. in New York after rising 0.5 percent yesterday. The common currency fell 0.2 percent to $1.3132. The yen strengthened 0.1 percent to 76.14 per dollar after earlier rising to 76.06, approaching the postwar high of 75.35 set on Oct. 31.
Greece and its creditors are locked in discussions over a debt-swap deal for the nation. The bondholders last week lowered their demands for an average coupon on the new 30-year debt they would receive to as little as 3.6 percent from 4.25 percent after European officials demanded they take steeper losses, people familiar with the matter said at the time.
The Euro is Vulnerable
“Potential vulnerability could come if the announcement is delayed,” BNP analysts led by Steven Saywell, London-based head of foreign-exchange strategy for Europe, wrote in a research note to clients.
Spain sold 4.56 billion euros of debt due in 2015, 2016 and 2017, just surpassing its target of 4.5 billion euros. That compares with a 6.61 billion-euro sale on Jan. 19, which was well above the target of 4.5 billion euros. The Spanish 10-year bond yield climbed eight basis points to 4.93 percent.
The euro briefly reversed losses after China’s Wen said the nation is still researching the best way to participate in the European Financial Stability Facility. He spoke at a briefing with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Beijing.
Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said he “can’t overlook” speculative moves in the foreign-exchange market and is ready take “decisive” actions if necessary. The Japanese ministry sold the yen on Oct. 31 on concern its advance to a record will hurt earnings at exporters.
Worst Loss
Sharp Corp., Japan’s largest maker of LCD panels, yesterday forecast its worst annual loss since its founding a century ago, with its president saying exporting is “nearly impossible” with the strong yen.
“If the dollar-yen falls quickly then the Ministry of Finance might decide to intervene again,” said You-Na Park, a foreign-exchange strategist at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. “Until then we will hear continued verbal intervention since the yen is quite strong.”
The yen has gained 6 percent over the past six months, the second-best performance among the 10 developed-nation currencies tracked by the Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes. The dollar rose 6.2 percent, and the euro dropped 2.3 percent.
The dollar may weaken a further 1.5 percent against the yen after breaching a key trading level, Karen Jones, head of fixed- income, commodity and currency technical analysis at Commerzbank AG in London AG said, citing trading patterns.
“Dollar-yen has eroded the key Fibonacci retracement at 76.20,” she wrote in an e-mailed report. “This leaves the market on the defensive and refocuses attention back to the 75.31 low and potentially psychological support at 75.”
Posted by Piagis Shoutout on Thu, Feb 02, 2012 @ 07:10 AM
Piagi reports today as it reported that News Corp.’s Times newspaper in the U.K. is being investigated by police over possible computer hacking by a reporter, spreading the company’s media scandal to a third Rupert Murdoch paper in the U.K. will they never learn?
The Metropolitan Police Service is investigating the Times over e-mail hacking, Labour party lawmaker Tom Watson said in an e-mail. Officers from Operation Tuleta, which is probing possible computer hacking, said they have been in contact with Watson, police said in a separate e-mail.
This is the first time the Times has come under police scrutiny since a phone-hacking scandal prompted News Corp. to shutter the 168-year-old News of the World tabloid in July. A parallel probe of police bribery by reporters led to the arrests of four current and former employees at New York-based News Corp.’s Sun tabloid five days ago.
Mr. Watson, a member of the U.K. Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee that is investigating the interception of mobile phone voice mails by reporters, said in August he thought computer hacking would become the next scandal facing Murdoch’s U.K. publishing business.
The Times’s editor, James Harding last month described an incident in which a reporter at the 227-year-old newspaper had gained unauthorized access to an e-mail account for a story.
‘Fallen Short’
“When it was brought to my attention, the journalist faced disciplinary action,” Harding said in written testimony to a separate judge-led inquiry into media ethics. “The reporter believed he was seeking to gain information in the public interest, but we took the view he had fallen short of what was expected of a Times journalist.”
Former British Army intelligence officer Ian Hurst sued News Corp.’s London-based News International unit over claims it hired a computer expert to hack into his e-mail. Actress Sienna Miller told the judicial inquiry last year that she suspected her computer had been accessed by the media in 2008, though she didn’t say which paper.
News Corp. spokeswoman Daisy Dunlop declined to comment.
The probe comes days after News International submitted new evidence to Watson’s committee describing the deletion of an internal e-mail that later resurfaced and contradicted claims by News Corp. Deputy Chief Operating Officer James Murdoch.
Saturday E-Mail
The e-mail from former News of the World editor Colin Myler suggested James Murdoch was made aware in 2008 that phone- hacking at the News of World was more widespread than the company claimed. Murdoch, who says he didn’t read the e-mail because it was sent on a Saturday, told the committee he wasn’t aware of widespread phone-hacking until the scandal erupted again last year.
Myler’s copy of the message was “lost from the e-mail archive system in a hardware failure” in March 2010, while James Murdoch’s copy was deleted by a member of News International’s IT staff in January 2011 as part of an “e-mail stabilization” program, according to the company’s law firm. The police probe started less than two weeks later.
Judge Geoffrey Vos in London, who is overseeing civil phone-hacking cases filed by victims, said at a hearing last month that News International should be treated as “deliberate destroyers of evidence” and ordered the company to search more computers.
When the phone-hacking scandal started in 2006 with the arrest of a News of the World reporter and a private investigator, the company claimed the practice was limited to a “rogue” journalist. Evidence obtained in civil lawsuits later revealed others were involved and triggered a new police probe.
London police, who are still contacting hundreds of possible phone-hacking victims, have arrested more than 20 people in the three related probes, including the News of the World’s former editors, Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson.
Posted by Piagis Shoutout on Wed, Feb 01, 2012 @ 07:52 AM
Rates page 01.02.2012
U.K. Stocks Rise as China Manufacturing Expands; BP Shares Gain
Piagi reports as stocks in the U.K. rose for the second day, as a report showed that China’s manufacturing industries unexpectedly expanded last month, adding to optimism that growth in the world’s second-largest economy will hold firm.
We saw as BP Plc climbed 2.4 percent following a judge that ruled that Europe’s second-biggest oil company doesn’t have to pay any punitive damages awarded against Halliburton Co. from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Johnson Matthey Plc surged 3.3 percent as the producer of a third of all autocatalysts reported increased profit in its fiscal third quarter.
The benchmark FTSE 100 Index added 72.64, or 1.3 percent, to 5,754.25 at 1:25 p.m. in London. The gauge rose 2 percent in January for its second consecutive month of gains. The advance extended its rally from last year’s lowest level to 15 percent as the European Central Bank boosted lending to banks and U.S. economic reports exceeded estimates. The FTSE All-Share Index climbed 1.3 percent today, while Ireland’s ISEQ Index increased 1 percent.
“The key element for the rally is the improving economic picture,” Otto Waser, chief investment officer at Research & Asset Management AG, told Bloomberg Television from Zurich. “The market has long underestimated the three-year liquidity program of the ECB. That has been quite the bazooka that the market had been looking for.”
China’s Manufacturing Expands
In China, the official purchasing managers’ index increased to 50.5 in January from 50.3 in December, exceeding the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey for a reading below the 50 level that divides expansion from contraction. The data may have been distorted by a weeklong holiday. A separate gauge from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics rose to 48.8. India’s manufacturing grew at the fastest pace in eight months.
BP climbed 2.1 percent to 480.85 pence, making the biggest contribution to the FTSE 100’s advance. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans also ruled yesterday that BP will not have to cover any civil penalties against Halliburton under the Clean Water Act. The blowout of the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico led to the world’s largest accidental oil spill.
Johnson Matthey climbed 3.3 percent to 2,118 pence after saying underlying profit before tax in the three months through December surged 34 percent from a year earlier to 104.3 million pounds ($164 million). Sales, excluding precious metals, rose 22 percent. Johnson Matthey, which produced the world’s first catalysts in 1974, has benefited from the increased use of the pollution-cutting devices in Asia and the U.S.
ICAP Plc rallied 6.3 percent to 357 pence even after the world’s largest broker of transactions between banks said pretax profit for the fiscal year ending March 31 will be at the “upper end” of the current range of analyst estimates.
Bank shares were among the biggest gainers in western European markets today. Barclays Plc rallied 5.1 percent to 223.35 pence, extending its 21 percent surge in January. HSBC gained 1.8 percent to 539.1 pence.
Posted by Piagis Shoutout on Tue, Jan 31, 2012 @ 08:45 AM
Forex rates page 31.jan 2012
Today the last day of January we report as the Great British Pound strengthened to a 10-week high against the US Dollar as the optimism European leaders are seen to be moving closer toward resolving the region’s debt crisis damped demand for the relative safety of the greenback.
The Gilts fell for the first time in five days after the Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said progress had been made in debt-swap talks with the nation’s bondholders. European lenders may next month ask the European Central Bank for twice the amount of loans they took in December’s refinancing operation, the Financial Times reported. Sterling also rose against the Japanese yen after industry data showed U.K. consumer confidence increased to a seven-month high in January.
“Sterling is being driven by a broader uptick in risk sentiment,” said Elizabeth Gregory, a market strategist at Swissquote Bank SA in Geneva. “A lot of people are encouraged that European financial operations are going to handle all of their imminent funding needs.”
The Great British Pound gained 0.4 percent to $1.5777 at 2:06 p.m. London time after climbing to $1.5796, the strongest level since Nov. 21. It headed for a 1.5 percent monthly advance. Sterling rose 0.4 percent to 120.37 yen, and appreciated 0.2 percent to 83.50 pence per euro.
European chiefs meeting in Brussels yesterday agreed to accelerate the introduction of a permanent 500 billion-euro ($660 billion) rescue fund and signed a deficit-control treaty. Papademos said he’s “strongly committed” to reaching a debt- swap agreement with Greece’s creditors.
The FTSE 100 Index of shares gained 0.8 percent and the Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 1 percent.
ECB Lending
The ECB lent European financial institutions a record 489 billion euros in three-year loans on Dec. 21 as part of its measures to encourage banks to maintain lending. Some banks may double or triple their requests at the next operation, the FT said, citing three unnamed chief executive officers.
The U.K. currency snapped yesterday’s decline against the dollar after GfK NOP Ltd. said its gauge of U.K. consumer sentiment climbed four points from December to minus 29, the highest reading since June. Consumers’ outlook for the economy and their personal finances also improved.
Mortgage approvals rose less than economists forecast in December and consumer credit fell the most on record, a separate report from the Bank of England showed.
The pound has weakened 1 percent this year according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes, which track 10 developed-nation currencies. The dollar dropped 2.5 percent, and the euro weakened 0.8 percent.
Gilts Drop
The yield on the 10-year gilt climbed two basis points, or 0.02 percentage point, to 2 percent after dropping to a record 1.917 percent on Jan. 18. The 3.75 percent bond due September 2021 fell 0.115, or 1.15 pounds per 1,000-pound face amount, to 115.20.
Overseas investors cut their gilt holdings by the most since March 2009 last month, according to the Bank of England. Investors sold a net 10.66 billion pounds of U.K. government debt, compared with net purchases of 16.3 billion pounds in November, data published on the central bank’s website showed.
Gilts have handed investors a 0.1 percent return this year, according to indexes compiled by Bloomberg and the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies. Treasuries gained 0.2 percent.
Since the Bank of England expanded its debt purchase program on Oct. 6, gilts have returned 0.5 percent after volatility was taken into account, according to Bloomberg risk- adjusted return rankings.
The risk-adjusted return is calculated by dividing total return by volatility, or the degree of daily price-swing variation, giving a measure of income per unit of risk. The returns are not annualized.
The U.K. plans to auction as much as 7.25 billion pounds of bonds and bills this week.
Posted by Piagis Shoutout on Mon, Jan 30, 2012 @ 08:43 AM
Forex rates page
U.K. Home Prices Face Downward Pressure in 2012, Hometrack Says
Piagi reports that U.K. house prices were unchanged in January, according to property researcher Hometrack Ltd., which stated that “continued downward pressure” on property prices will continue amid a squeeze on consumers.
From this time last year, property values have fallen 1.6 percent in January, the London-based firm said in an e-mailed report today. Gauges of new properties coming on the market and demand both declined and the underlying trend is one of “tightening supply and weakening demand,” it said.
The U.K. economy shrank 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter as inflation, rising unemployment and the euro-area debt crisis damped consumer spending. Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said last week that consumers faced a “ferocious squeeze” in 2011 and the recovery is likely to be “long and uneven.”
“Demand remains constrained by the uncertain economic outlook,” Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, said in a statement. “The net effect will be a continued negative balance between supply and demand, pointing to further downward pressure on prices in the months ahead.”
Demand for houses dipped 11 percent in the second half of 2011, while the supply of property for sale fell 7 percent, the most since 2009, Hometrack said.
In London, prices rose 0.1 percent in January. O’Donnell said the capital “looks set to buck the national trend again” due to overseas buyers boosting prices in prime areas.
The national survey showed that sellers are accepting an average 7.5 percent reduction on asking prices for their properties. The number of sales agreements plunged 14.3 percent this month, after a 0.9 percent drop in December, while the average selling time rose to 10.2 weeks from 10.1 weeks.
The market is “dogged by uncertainty,” Donnell said. “Given the pressure on household finances and the outlook for the wider economy as a whole, we expect only a modest improvement in levels of demand in the coming months.”
Posted by David Clingerman on Fri, Jan 27, 2012 @ 08:16 AM
Here are the current interbank forex rates at this moment on January 27th, 2012:
Financial News:
The Swiss National Bank may sell the franc “agressively” in the coming days to protect its ceiling for the currency against the euro, Deutsche Bank AG said.
“Central bank intervention could emerge any day now given where we are,” George Saravelos, a foreign-exchange strategist at Deutsche Bank in London, said in an interview. “How they act will influence the way investors think they will intervene going forward.”
The franc traded little changed at 1.2064 per euro at 8:01 a.m. London time, approaching the cap of 1.20 set by Swiss policy makers in September to reduce the risk of deflation and help exporters. The Swiss currency reached 1.2474 per euro on Oct. 19, the weakest since May.
The SNB will enforce the limit “with the utmost determination and remains prepared to buy foreign currency in unlimited quantities,” governing board member Jean-Pierre Danthine said at an event in Zurich on Jan. 24.
“It makes more sense to do it aggressively,” Saravelos said. “That way they would have investors on their side,” seeking to sell the franc in anticipation of central bank intervention, he said.
Posted by David Clingerman on Thu, Jan 26, 2012 @ 08:21 AM
Here are the current interbank forex rates at this moment on the 26th of January, 2012:
Financial News:
The dollar weakened versus all but one of its 16 major counterparts as the Federal Reserve’s pledge to keep interest rates at a record low for longer than originally forecast spurred investors to seek higher yields.
The U.S. currency fell to a five-week low against the euro after policy makers said yesterday the benchmark interest rate would stay low until at least late 2014 from mid-2013. The Canadian dollar strengthened to parity with the greenback for the first time since November. Brazil’s real was the best performer against the dollar after the unemployment rate fell to a record low.
“The Fed signaling that they will be on hold for longer would push investors further out the risk spectrum,” said Aroop Chatterjee, a currency strategist at Barclays Plc in New York. “This means out of the dollar and into riskier currencies in search of yield. There’s going to be a lot of focus on data the next couple of days as the Fed could be responding some economic weakness that the market has not positioned for.”
The dollar fell 0.4 percent to $1.3159 per euro at 9:02 a.m. in New York after sliding to $1.3177, the weakest level since Dec. 21. The U.S. currency dropped 0.2 percent to 77.60 yen. The euro added 0.2 percent to 102.04 yen, touching the strongest since Dec. 23.
Implied volatility of three-month options of Group of Seven currencies fell to 10.21 percent, from as much as 10.78 percent yesterday, according to the JPMorgan G7 Volatility Index (JPMVXYG7). A decrease makes investments in currencies with higher benchmark lending rates more attractive as the risk in such trades is that market moves will erase profits.
Brazil’s real rose 1.3 percent to 1.7398 per dollar after reaching 1.7320, the strongest in more than two months. The nation, where interest rates are 10.5 percent, saw the unemployment rate fell to a record 4.7 percent in December, beating estimates of a decline to 4.9 percent.
The Dollar Index dropped to the lowest in six weeks amid speculation the central bank will enter another round of asset purchases potentially debasing the currency. The gauge, which IntercontinentalExchange Inc. uses to track the U.S. currency against those of six U.S. trading partners, fell for a second day, losing 0.3 percent to 79.209.
The Fed “recognizes the hardships imposed by high and persistent unemployment in an underperforming economy, and it is prepared to provide further monetary accommodation,” Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said yesterday at a press conference in Washington.
A third, fourth and fifth round of quantitative easing “lie ahead,” said Bill Gross, who runs the world’s biggest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management Co. in Newport Beach, California. The U.S. will suffer “financial repression” as the Fed implements additional easing, he wrote in a Twitter post.
Canada’s currency gained 0.3 percent to C$1.0012 per U.S. dollar after reaching C$0.9993, the strongest since Nov. 1.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. yesterday recommended its clients buy the Canadian dollar versus the greenback, saying the Fed’s pledge to keep rates low reaffirms a dollar “weakening trend.”
The dollar has dropped 1.3 percent in the past week, according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes, which track 10 developed-nation currencies. The yen fell 1.9 percent and the euro rose 0.4 percent.
The euro may extend gains until it reaches a key resistance level at $1.3250 before declining, Societe Generale SA said, citing trading patterns.
“The euro found a foothold at $1.2930 yesterday,” and then rose above resistance at $1.3075 and $1.31, Fabien Manac’h, a Paris-based technical strategist, wrote in a research note. “We may see an extension of the recovery started at $1.2620 recently to the $1.3210/50 region before the euro points back” toward $1.2590 or $1.26, he wrote.
The euro weakened earlier today on concern Greece and its private creditors will struggle to agree on a debt swap.
Charles Dallara and Jean Lemierre, negotiating on behalf of private creditors, return to Athens today after European finance ministers insisted bondholders take bigger losses on their Greek debt holdings.
“The markets are on standby waiting for some sort of a resolution,” said Marchel Alexandrovich, an economist at Jefferies International Ltd. in London. “There is a sense that a solution will ultimately emerge, but the whole thing could drag on for quite a while, which will probably keep the euro under pressure.”
The cost to protect against a decline in the euro against the dollar declined. Risk-reversal rates for three-month options on the 17-nation currency were negative 1.6 percent today. The measure reached negative 4.7 percent in November.
Posted by Piagis Shoutout on Wed, Jan 25, 2012 @ 10:29 AM
Piagi reports on the news outside of the forex markets
WPP Plc said its JWT unit has bought a 51% stake in a newly incorporated Jordanian company which will acquire the assets of IDEA, "a full service marketing & communications company in Amman, Jordan".
Renishaw Plc posted 1H results: "Revenue for the six months ended 31st December 2011 was a record £147.1M, up 11% on the £132.2M for the corresponding period last year. (...) The Group's profit before tax was £31.2M, 11% below the £35.2M reported last year reflecting the impact of continued investment in staff and infrastructure to support growth."
WH Smith Plc issued a trading statement for the 21 weeks to January 21: "The Group delivered a resilient performance with profit in line with expectations. Group total sales were down 3% with like-for-like (LFL) sales down 5% for the 21 weeks."
Britvic Plc announced 1Q revenue up 2.4% YoY (+2.5% at constant exchange rate) to £295.2M, adding: "GB revenue grew by 2.8%. Ireland revenue has declined by 10.0%. France revenue grew by 12.6% and International revenue grew by 1.7%."
BTG Plc published an Interim Management Statement for the October 1 - January 24 period: "Trading has been in line with the Board's expectations and revenues for the full year are expected to be in the range £160M to £165M, as previously announced."
3i Infrastructure Plc said in its Interim Management Statement for the October 1 - January 24 period: "The Company's portfolio is performing well, and continues to deliver a good yield."
Auto & Parts construction & materials and technology shares fell most in London on Tuesday.
Industrial Goods & Services: Chemring Group (-13.92% to 386.5p) reached a new 3-month relative low against the FTSE 100.
Media: Aegis (+0.92% to 153.1p) closed at a 3-month relative high against the FTSE 100.
Oil & Gas: Premier Oil Plc (+0.37% to 439p) closed at a 3-month relative high against the FTSE 100.
Posted by David Clingerman on Wed, Jan 25, 2012 @ 10:26 AM
Here are the current interbank forex rates at this moment today, the 25th of January, 2012:
Financial News:
The euro fell for the first time in three days versus the dollar after the European Central Bank was said to oppose restructuring its Greek bonds, adding to concern the nation will fail to win a deal to reduce its debt.
The yen reached its weakest level in almost two months against the U.S. currency after Japan reported its first annual trade deficit in 31 years, stoking concern the country’s fiscal health may deteriorate. South Korea’s won was the best performer versus the dollar as exporters converted their foreign exchange to meet month-end cash demand. The dollar gained against most its major counterparts as Federal Reserve policy makers prepared to give projections for borrowing costs for the first time.
The 17-nation euro slid 0.6 percent to $1.2964 at 10:44 a.m. New York time. It reached $1.3063 yesterday, the highest level since Jan. 4. The yen depreciated 0.8 percent to 78.28 per dollar, the weakest since Nov. 29. The euro gained 0.2 percent to 101.51 yen.
The Dollar Index, which IntercontinentalExchange Inc. uses to track the greenback against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners, rose 0.5 percent to 80.211, before Federal Reserve policy makers decide on interest rates.
The Fed said last week it will provide two charts with forecasts for the benchmark rate after the Federal Open Market Committee meeting today. The central bank left the target for overnight loans between banks in a range of zero to 0.25 percent last month and reiterated that economic conditions may warrant “exceptionally low” rates “at least” through mid-2013. It will keep the key rate unchanged today, according to a Bloomberg survey.
The pound fell 0.3 percent to $1.5580 after a report showed U.K. gross domestic product contracted 0.2 percent from the third quarter, compared with a drop of 0.1 percent forecast by 33 economists in a Bloomberg News survey.
The declines in sterling were limited after Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said yesterday that policy makers can increase stimulus again if needed to guard against a “renewed severe downturn.”
It gained 0.2 percent to 83.24 pence per euro.
While the ECB faces pressure to join private-sector investors in taking losses on Greek securities, the central bank sees this as potentially damaging to confidence in the institution, according to two people familiar with the Governing Council’s stance, who declined to be identified because the matter is confidential.
The cost to protect against a drop in the euro against the dollar increased for a fourth day. Risk-reversal rates for three-month options on the euro versus the dollar were negative 1.66 percent today from negative 1.65 percent yesterday. It has climbed from as low as negative 4.4 percent in November.
Implied volatility of three-month options of Group of Seven currencies rose to 10.66 percent, the most since Jan. 17, according to the JPMorgan G7 Volatility Index. An increase makes investments in currencies with higher benchmark lending rates less attractive as the risk in such trades is that market moves will erase profits.
Posted by Piagis Shoutout on Wed, Jan 25, 2012 @ 10:22 AM
Currency rates and Greek bond negotiations matched by celebrity debt
Greek bond negotiations matched by celebrity debt
In Athens this week, it is reported that , "the finance ministry has revealed that 4,151 Greeks owe €14.9bn to the state – more than the €14.5bn bond repayment Athens has to make in March."
The reported list of tax-evaders includes a slew of Greek celebrities, fifteen of whom owe more than €100m each. Unfortunately there is little chance of the finance ministry collecting its €14.9bn in time for those bond repayments next month.
Greece will therefore have to satisfy the EU and the International Monetary Fund that its austerity measures are appropriately rigorous and that it has negotiated a restructuring of its existing debt. If it fails on either count it will not receive the bailout cash it needs to cover the repayments.
There is still a standoff between the IMF/EU faction, who want to pay 3.5% or less interest on the rescheduled debt, and the private sector bondholders who want a higher reward for their concessions. Investors who had been optimistic about a deal at the start of this week are now less confident.
Economic statistics to note this week include the Canadian leading indicator* (up 0.8% in December), the Euroland consumer confidence survey (less negative at -20.6) and Australia's leading indicator (turning negative at -0.3%). The Bank of Japan confirmed its benchmark interest rate would remain at 0.1%.
US Dollar Zone: US $1 buys (indicative rate and what you get):
Australian dollar (AUD) 0.9543 $ 0.95
Canadian dollar (CAD) 1.0100 $ 1.01
Swiss franc (CHF) 0.9259 Fr. 0.93
Danish krone (DKK) 5.7049 kr 5.70
Euro (EUR) 0.7671 € 0.77
Fiji dollar (FJD) 1.7743 $ 1.77
Pound sterling (GBP) 0.6431 £ 0.64
Hong Kong dollar (HKD) 7.7608 $ 7.76
Japanese yen (JPY) 77.2801 ¥ 77.28
Norwegian krone (NOK) 5.8646 kr 5.86
Polish zloty (PLN) 3.2910 zł 3.29
Swedish krona (SEK) 6.7490 kr 6.75
Singapore dollar (SGD) 1.2695 $ 1.27
Thai baht (THB) 31.4401 ฿ 31.44
US dollar (USD) 1.0000 $ 1.00
South African rand (ZAR) 8.0027 R 8.00
Euro Currency Zone: Euro €1 buys (indicative rate and what you get):
Australian dollar (AUD) 1.2436 $ 1.24
Canadian dollar (CAD) 1.3171 $ 1.32
Swiss franc (CHF) 1.2072 Fr. 1.21
Danish krone (DKK) 7.4382 kr 7.44
Euro (EUR) 1.0000 € 1.00
Fiji dollar (FJD) 2.3118 $ 2.31
Pound sterling (GBP) 0.8383 £ 0.84
Hong Kong dollar (HKD) 10.1120 $ 10.11
Japanese yen (JPY) 100.7710 ¥ 100.77
Norwegian krone (NOK) 7.6413 kr 7.64
Polish zloty (PLN) 4.2883 zł 4.29
Swedish krona (SEK) 8.7973 kr 8.80
Singapore dollar (SGD) 1.6555 $ 1.66
Thai baht (THB) 40.9521 ฿ 40.95
US dollar (USD) 1.3030 $ 1.30
South African rand (ZAR) 10.4290 R 10.43